Piano-key mechanism.



R. HOPE-JONES, DECD. C. HOPE-JONES. TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATRIX. PIANO KEY MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14, 1914.

1 ,301 ,267; v Patented Apr. 22, 1919.

2 SHEETSSH EET l.

wanna I 1 UILC'U/ 6661,5662 my mg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT HOPEJ' ONES, DECEASED, LATE OF NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK, BY CECIL HOPE-J ONES, TEMPORARY ADMIN ISTRATRIX, OF NORTH TONAWAN'DA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE RUDOLPH WURLITZER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PIANO-KEY mncnmrsm.

Application filed November 14; 1914. Serial No. 872,180.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that ROBERT Horn-JONES, dek ceased, late of North. Tonawanda, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, did invent certain new and useful Improve-' ments in Piano-Key Mechanisms, and the following is hereby declared to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, ref-' erence being had to the accompanyln draw ings, forming a part of this speci catlon, and to the reference numerals thereon.

The present invention has for lts Ob ect to provide means adapted to be connected to a key or manual of the action of a musical instrument such as a piano, whereby the player may cause the power or force of the stroke to be increased. The invention f urther comprehends applying a yielding mounting for thekey, constituting a valve arranged to control air under pressure, which when released inflates a pneumatic or bellows adapted to act upon the inner end of the key to cause the thrust imparted by it to the remaining portion of the key ac tion to be greatly augmented. To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings: v

Figure 1 is a detail view partly in section, showing a piano key action to which devices illustrating one embodiment of the invention have been applied, and

Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are similar detail views illustrating modifications, v

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional eleva tion of the key-pneumatic forming part of the modified arrangement shown in Fig. 4:.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

Mechanism embodying the invention is adapted to be applied to key operated musical instruments, and in the illustrations there is shown a piano key action com rising a key or manual 1 pivotally mounte above the bed 2, and upon the inner end of which rests the jack 3, which it willbe understood, is actuated upwardly to cause the hammer 4 to strike its respective string or strings 5.

The mechanism for augmenting the touch marked Y applied by the player to the outer end of the ey is under the control of the player, and generally described it comprisesa yieldingly mounted valve member which may be depressed when the touch applied to the key is sufficient to overcome its normal resistance. This valve mechanism is preferably arranged in conjunction with the pivot on which the key is mounted, and it controls passages leading from a pressure wind chest to a key pneumatic or bellows which, when inflated, acts upon the operating end of the key to cause its upward movement.

In the; form of the device illustrated in Fig. 1, showing one arrangement of the parts embodying the invention, the key 1 is pivoted on a rod 6 constituting a valve stem,

' which is guided in brackets 7 and 8, and is provided with a collar 9 supporting the key 1, the parts being yieldingly supported by a coil spring 10 resting on the bracket 7. Beneath the key bed 2 and extending longitudinally thereof isa wind chest 11, which it will be understood contains air under pressure supplled from any suitable source,

, Leading from the wind chest is a passage 12 which communicates with a key pneumatic or bellows 13, having the outer or movable leafprovided with a push bar 14: which engages the'lower side of the inner end of the key 1 when the latter is in its normal posi tion, and the bellows 13 is deflated. The passage 12 is provided with a port 12 communicating with the wind chest 11, and with a vent 12 opening into the atmosphere. The port 12 is normally closed by the valve head 6, and another valve head 6 is arranged on the valve stem 6 for the purpose of closing the vent 12 when the stem 6 is depressed sufiiciently to reverse the normal conditions of said port and vent. Where a plurality of keys are arranged side by side, as in a piano action, the pneumatics 13 will be disposed beneath the key bed 2 in a plurality of horizontal rows, the pneumatics serving adjacent keys being in different rows and offset slightly to accommodate the rods 14. In Fig. 1 there is shown a second pneumatic indicated by 13*.

In practice the collar 9 is threaded on the valve stem 6 'or other equivalent means is provided for adjusting the tension of the spring 10, which normally supports the piv Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apl 22, 1919.

otal point of the key against vertical movement under all general requirements of a" player or operator, as it is only intended to permit the key to be depressed bodily by a rather pronounced -attack,=such as a player would apply when desiring particularly tostrike a given note with more than the usual emphasis. The valve heads 6 'and 6 are so adjusted relatively to each other that the aperture 12 will not be closed if the bodily downward movement of :the key is a slow one, as would result if the player after depressing the outer'end of the key should con- ;tinue tov apply pressure until thetension of thesp'ring 10 is overcome, as in this way the air pressure from the wind chest 11 entering the port 1'2 would 'become equalized and fail -tooperatethe key pneumatic byreason of the opening through the-vent-12 The achustment of thetwo valve heads is also such that upon a sudden downward movement of the pivotal point of the key the vent is closed and thekport is opened, whereupon the air pressure entering the bellows 13 operates its pusherlinpwa-rdly to impart to the inner end of the key .1 a force which is considerably "greater than that which it is capable,

for the operator to create by manually depressing the outer end of the key.

In Fig. 2 a modified arrangement of the mechanism is illustrated, showing a key or digital 15 pivoted on a :rod 16 yieldingly supported on a leaf spring :17 carrying a :valve ''-head 18 in -a'-wind chest 19, connected by a passage :20. with a key pneumatic 21. The valve head is provided with a passage 18 which, when said headis depressed, opens communication between the wind chest and i. the passage 20, and on the under side of the valve head is .a recess 1-8 which, when the valve head is in-its normal position, permits;

the escape of air fromthe -passage20 by'connecting-it with a vent; 22. In-the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2,-the only resistance against the downward bodily movement of the key is thatafi'ordedby the springs 10 and '17, and in Figs. '3, 4 and 5 there are shown 7 modifications of the invention in'which the air-pressure may be'u-tilized to assist in holding the key pivot in itsnormal position. In one instance the valve member itself is acted upon by the air pressure to resist the move "ment of the key, while in the other form the of apertures and 26", which are so dis-,-

posed relatively to each other that the aper-1 itures are normally closed, as shown in Fig.

"3, the: key .andvalve head being sustained lightly in this position by 'means of the leaf spring 28. The pipe or passage 29 leads from the bottom of the casing 26-tothe key pneumatic 30,-provided with a push rod 31 hearing against. the bottom 'ofthe key 23. In this form-of apparatusthe key: need only be lightly supported by the spring 28, as any tendency to a downward movement of the pivotal point of the key will be checked sufiicienflyb the resistance caused by the air pressure in ithe-wind chest 27 entering the ports 26, 25*, but which does not become fully effective .to influence the movement of the bellows until a 'sufiiciently decided downward movement of the key has occurred to'cause the valve openings to fully uncover the ports 26. r

In Figs. 4 and 5 the resultslast described are accomplished by using a vbellows'32 disposed in a chamber 33 from which leads a passage '34 ;to the key pneumatic 30. The chamber 33 is connected with the wind chest; '35 through an aperture 35 which is opened and closed by a valve head 36 havinga port 36*. The valve head .36 is connected to the bellows 32 by astem 37, the upper end of which bears against a lightleaf spring 38 on 'which rests the pivot .39 of 'the'key 40. The

bellows 32 is partially distended, and a. slow leakage of :air from the wind chest 35 into the chamber 33 willtend to causeits collapse, thus holding the stem 37 against the spring 7 38, the upward m'ovementof which is limited assisting the movement of thekeys of a musical instrument, whereby the player can obtain a wider range of expression in his-playmg, and it also possesses the further advantage that the loud or accented notes which are to be struck can be sounded without taxing the physical .force of the player.

The claim of the invention is 1. The combination with the key of a musical instrument, the mechanism operated thereby and a power device also adapted to impart movement to said mechanism, of a yieldable fulcrum for the key controlling the action of the power device.

2. The combination "with the pivoted key of amusical instrument, and the action operated by the normal rocking movement of the key, of an-auxiliary power device for imparting movement to the action means yieldingly supporting the key pivot controlling the operation of said power device and actuated by the depression of the key pivot.

3. The combination with, the "pivoted key of a musical instrument, the action operated thereby and a normally inactive auxiliary device adapted to apply a powerful movement to said action, of a controlling member for said auxiliary device arranged to yieldingly support said key and moved to actuate said auxiliary device upon the depression of the key pivot.

4. The combination with the key of a musical instrument, the action operated thereby and a yieldingly supported pivot member for the key, of a source of power, a motor adapted to impart movement to the action and means operated by the movement of the pivot member for connecting said source of power and motor.

5. The combination with the key of a musical instrument and the action operated thereby, of an auxiliary power device for imparting movement to the action, and means governed by the movement of the key for effecting the conjoint operation of said key and power device upon the action.

6. The combination with the key of a musical instrument, an action operated thereby and a wind chest, of a pneumatic device also adapted to operate said action and a valve havinga fixed resistance to its opening movement and adapted to be opened by the depression of the key with force sufficient to overcome such resistance and arranged to control the passage of fluid from the chest to the neumatic device.

7. T e combination with a piano action comprising a key, an action operated thereby, a pneumatic motor also arranged to operate the action and a wind chest, a valve for connecting the wind chest and motor and yieldingly supporting the key against the normal pressure applied thereto and to move into open position to effect the operation of the motor conj ointly with the key when the latter is actuated by an abnormal pressure.

8. The combination with a piano action comprising a key, of a vertically movable support on which the key is pivoted, a pneumatic motor adapted to impart movement to the action, a wind chest comprising a passage communicating with the motor, a valve controlling said passage and a spring sus taining the key support and yieldingly holding the valve in closed position.

CECIL HOPE-J ONES, Tem omry administratfiw of the estate of obert Hope-Jones, deceased.

Witnesses:

JOHN LANKIN, RICHARD J. LYNCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cent: each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. 0. 

